High-tech inventor unearths marine fossil

Flinders University’s Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen and his family have discovered the bones of a giant, extinct reptile on their first family fossil-hunting trip in Queensland.

Senior Flinders lecturer Dr Gardner-Stephen is a Research Fellow in Rural, Remote and Humanitarian Telecommunications.

Flinders University’s Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen and his family have put most professional palaeontologists to shame by discovering the bones of a giant, extinct reptile on their first family fossil-hunting trip in Queensland.

Dr Gardner-Stephen, who is an expert and accomplished inventor in the area of digital technology, found the bones while searching with his two children.

The bony haul included several flipper bones and vertebrae of an ichthyosaur.

He told the ABC that the bones could now be shown in a museum in Queensland – and suggested other families might try their luck at a similar find.

“In a matter of a few hours of digging with some simple hand tools, we had found a really large marine reptile and so I think the prospects are great for anyone else who’s interested in this kind of thing,” he told the ABC.

He added that it was an amazing moment, especially for his two children, Isabel and Caleb.